TITLE IV--STUDENT ASSISTANCE

PART G--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 481. MASTER CALENDAR

(a) REQUIRED SCHEDULE- Section 482(a) (20 U.S.C. 1089(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, notify eligible institutions, guaranty agencies, lenders, interested software providers, and, upon request, other interested parties, by December 1 prior to the start of an award year of minimal hardware and software requirements necessary to administer programs under this title.

`(4) The Secretary shall attempt to conduct training activities for financial aid administrators and others in an expeditious and timely manner prior to the start of an award year in order to ensure that all participants are informed of all administrative requirements.'.

(b) DELAY OF EFFECTIVE DATE OF LATE PUBLICATIONS- Subsection (c) of section 482 is amended to read as follows:

`(c) DELAY OF EFFECTIVE DATE OF LATE PUBLICATIONS- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any regulatory changes initiated by the Secretary affecting the programs under this title that have not been published in final form by November 1 prior to the start of the award year shall not become effective until the beginning of the second award year after such November 1 date.

`(2)(A) The Secretary may designate any regulatory provision that affects the programs under this title and is published in final form after November 1 as one that an entity subject to the provision may, in the entity's discretion, choose to implement prior to the effective date described in paragraph (1). The Secretary may specify in the designation when, and under what conditions, an entity may implement the provision prior to that effective date. The Secretary shall publish any designation under this subparagraph in the Federal Register.

`(B) If an entity chooses to implement a regulatory provision prior to the effective date described in paragraph (1), as permitted by subparagraph (A), the provision shall be effective with respect to that entity in accordance with the terms of the Secretary's designation.'.